Read an exclusive excerpt of Ashes by Álvaro Ortiz

If there’s one medium that never gets its due, it’s graphic novels. That’s why I jumped at the chance to feature both Ashes and an exclusive excerpt from the book.

Personally, I’m someone who enjoys graphic novels. While I don’t pick them up all the time, I can confidently say that Ashes by Álvaro Ortiz was a quick addition to my TBR. Not only does it have a stunning art style, but the story seems great too.

Additionally, the synopsis makes it sound all the more enjoyable: “Polly, Moho, and Piter haven’t seen each other in years. Now they’ve piled into a car for a loooong journey to a mysterious cross marked on a map. All their old personality quirks and conflicts are resurrected with new wrinkles as this surreal reunion gets underway. Up ahead are car chases, alcohol, roadside motels, banjo-playing thugs, a ship graveyard, violence, sensual tension, and, of course, a monkey!”

As you can see, there’s no telling what you’ll end up getting into reading Ashes, but I mean that in the best way. As previously mentioned, we also got access to an exclusive couple of pages within the book so I want to feature it below.

Check out the exclusive excerpt of Ashes by Álvaro Ortiz before its release.

These pages were set aside especially for Culturess readers so I’m more than excited to share them. If you’re wondering about where these pages are in Ashes, these are pages 112 to 114 which you can take a look at now.

I feel like that expert gives you a good idea of some of the shenanigans Polly, Moho, and Piter get themselves into along with the art style. Personally, I’m really drawn to Álvaro Ortiz’s art style so I’m going to be diving into this one sooner rather than later.

Ultimately, it feels like Ashes is one of those graphic novels that will stick with you well beyond flipping the last page. There is something so magical about finishing a graphic novel and just knowing how much of a lasting impact it will have on you.

Aside from that, this is also Álvaro Ortiz’s first book to be published in English which is just amazing so it’s worth checking out and supporting for that reason alone. Honestly, I’m just so happy I was able to get a sneak preview of the first five pages because it has me adding this one to my wishlist.

Ashes by Álvaro Ortiz is being published on February 7th, 2023. 

Will you be checking out Ashes when it releases? Be sure to share your thoughts in the comments.